I was talking to a client today about a security incident and the discussion turned to how threat actors are using increasingly more sophisticated ways to attack individuals and companies. She lamented that we know more than the average individual about how they implement attacks, but she worries about her mother, who is frequently online. I suggested that she educate her mother about different techniques that are being used in cyber-attacks and to provide her with resources on the risks of using the Internet and how to protect herself from scams.

Perfect Privacy Tip for this week!

There are several resources that all of us can provide to our senior family and friends to help protect them from online scams and frauds.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a great website and lots of helpful hints on how to protect yourself from scams, including identity theft and online security. Subscribe to its scam Consumer Alerts (there are very few times I will say to subscribe to a list-serve, but this is one of them!) The scam alerts are helpful to anyone, including seniors. They alert the subscribers to the newest scams and warns them of the scams that the FTC are seeing reported to it to educate consumers on how the scams work.

There are lots of publications issued by consumer protection organizations to assist seniors with online safety, including AARP and others. One article I particularly like is “The Ultimate Internet Safety Guide for Seniors in 2023,” authored by Katarina Glamoslija of SafetyDetectives. She touts it as a one-stop shop for internet security assistance, and I agree that it is a pretty decent stop.

We all have family and friends who could use a little coaching on avoiding scams, including the seniors in our lives. Think about those in your life who could use a little coaching and pass this article along. You may be a hero when you help prevent them from becoming the victim of a romance scam.